


End of Career

by ArendAlphaEagle



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-19 00:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11301765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArendAlphaEagle/pseuds/ArendAlphaEagle
Summary: At the final Splatfest's results, the Squid Sisters have confessed to each other that their mean behavior was scripted, and far from how they truly feel about each other. Needless to say, their boss isn't pleased with this.(Originally published on FanFiction.Net at 07/26/16)





	1. Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> This work was originally posted on FanFiction.Net and can be found at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12070862/1/End-of-Career.
> 
> It was written after the end of the final Splatfest, but way before the announcement of Splatoon 2. Please keep that in mind when reading this.

The end of the day has been reached. 48 hours of what could possibly the most intense Splatfest ever have just been passed, and the results are in.

Thousands of Inklings have gathered on the Plaza, around the large TV hanging above the Squid Sisters studio. Those who couldn't make it to the Inkopolis Plaza are almost literally hugging the TV in their own home. It's time for the last newsflash of  
the day.

After the logo splash, the iconic pop idol duo of Inkopolis popped on the TV.

"Hold on to your tentacles...", Callie began, followed by Marie saying: "It's Inkopolis News time!"

"Now before we go with the usual routine, some special news", the black-tentacled Squid Sister started off the first segment. Marie commented: "Though, I'm sure you know what it is about already..."

"That's right", Callie said. "It's time for the results of the last Splatfest!" The screen showed the theme for said Splatfest. It were the Squid Sisters themselves, with Callie on the left side and Marie on the right, much like the actual Squid Sisters.

"The most important one too", her gray-tentacled companion added to the last comment.

The Inklings in front of the TV were all silent, awaiting the final scores with tension.

"First, let's look at whose side got the most votes", Callie said.

After some drumrolling, it turns out that (unsurprisingly) Marie was more popular, with 54%. Her team was usually more popular than Callie's. The green-clad Squid Sister grinned with glee.

"Hmph, fair enough", Callie said a bit grumpily. "BUT! The more important factor is whose side got the most wins!"

"Bring it on", Marie replied smugly.

A bit curious about Marie's remark is that, using sharp eyes, one could read a slight nervousness in her eyes, a bit unusual for the normally coolheaded Marie. The fans aren't sure why. Did she actually mean those words, or was she bluffing?

A bit more surprisingly is that Marie's side _also_ won more matches: 51% of the time to be precise.

The final results were now being counted. The final score is based on the popularity's percentage score, added to the percentage score of wins, multiplied by six.

It showed that Marie is the winner, with 360 points.

Both Squid Sisters are actually quite surprised. "HOLY CARP", they both exclaimed.

"I... I won", Marie stammered. "I won! I WON!"

Marie was quite pleased with the results, but then saw Callie being all grumpy.

"Fine", Callie grumbled. "Go ahead and insult me all you want. It's not like I'll hear the last of this, anyway"

Marie was now making a sadder face than before. It seems like guilt can be read all over her face now. In fact, it's almost like Marie has been feeling guilt all the time.

The ringhat-wearing idol feels like now is the time for a confession, as if she's been waiting for it.

She started: "Umm... I feel like it's time for me to do a confession..."

How was she going to say this? It's quite hard.

"Callie? You're listening?", Marie asked.

Callie still looked angry at Marie, but she's all ears.

"I... I'm sorry for saying all those mean things, Callie. All those insults were... scripted, made up by our boss. He said that it would increase views."

Callie's grumpy face became less grumpy and more surprised, as Marie's eyes got more teary as she said: "I... I thought you knew that they were scripted too. He said he'd tell you."

"He never told me anything like that", Callie replied. "He told me a different story."

Then Callie realized: "Wait, this isn't one of your pranks, is it?"

"No, Cal", Marie said, still teary-eyed. Then she showed her contract. "I got proof right here."

Callie took a peek at the document. The autographs seem legit and the handwriting is obviously her boss's. But why would Marie sign this, if it meant that she had to do something she didn't like... but then she read the small lettering.

"Wait", Callie said. "He was literally going to _fire_ you if you didn't agree?"

"Y-yes...", Marie said, as tears dripped over her cheeks. Some of her mascara got smudged due to it.

Callie remembered in her and Marie's initial contract for their current job, that it included small text saying that their boss could propose anything to them he wants or get them fired for both their newscast job and their pop idol one, if they objected.  
Who knew ill behavior was what their boss wanted?

"Oh cod", Callie realized, getting teary-eyed herself. "And all those insults I did towards you... I actually meant those! I feel so sorry now."

"No, you got all the rights to call me names", Marie told Callie. "I've been a huge jerk to you all this time. I deserve the hate."

Callie went a bit silent before saying: "...I got something to confess too."

Marie was perplexed. Innocent Callie got something to confess too? That just got interesting.

"You remember that I won six Splatfests in a row, right?" Callie asked.

"Don't tell me...", Marie feared.

"Yes... They're slightly rigged in my favor", Callie said. "But this never was my idea, it came straight from the boss."

Marie was about to say something, but Callie continued: "Moreover, he wanted me to brag as much on my Splatfest wins as possible." Then she showeda contract of her own. "Or else _I'd_ get fired."

So this was the different story Callie meant earlier.

Marie quickly puzzled together what their boss ultimately wanted: "So he deliberately set us up in a rivalry like in those fake wrestler shows... Now I get why he thinks insults would increase views."

"Marie, we're no wrestlers", Callie said. "We're performers."

"I think he got this idea when we proposed Splatfest in the first place", Marie realized.

"You think so?"

"Sure. Pitting two teams with the opposite ideals can be just as competitive."

"Marie, I still feel incredibly rotten for all those mean things I said", Callie said.

"Me too", Marie responded.

The two decide to hug it out.

Then, they realized that they were still recording a live newscast. The squid idols looked awkwardly at the cameraman, a jellyfish, with blushing faces in their own ink color. They stopped their embracing as Callie stammered: "W-whoops, that was a bit  
embarrassing". Marie added: "In retrospect, I should've apologized off-camera."

"Aaaanyway, your Sea Snail prizes are waiting for you at the Plaza right now", Callie said quickly, still blushing pink. Marie quickly added with green blushing cheeks: "And uh, you also have to return the Splatfest Tee, if you still haven't." What was  
she saying? Of course they have already.

The Squid Sisters signed off with their trademark "Stay fresh!" catchphrase and the broadcast ended.

The Inklings watching the broadcast... actually didn't mind what just happened. Overall, at least: there were some snickering jerks here and there.

But several groups of Inklings were so caught up in the drama, they completely forgot it was still a news show. There were even some sentimental ones that _cried._ Some others got fuzzy feelings from the fact that the Squid Sisters seem  
to have made up.

Regardless, this moment is likely going to be top news; with millions of Squeets, Miiverse posts, Vibe videos, CrawTube videos, and maybe even more being made and shared all over the internet.

* * *

Returning to their table in the studio, Callie was a bit panicked: "Oh no, what if they're making fun of us, now, Marie? What if they're gonna hate us?!"

"Relax, Callie", Marie said, a bit less panicking. "I'm a bit afraid too, but I believe it'll turn out fine. And in case some jerk decides to degrade us, I'll keep you supported."

The green Squid Sister took a sip from her milk tea.

"Besides", Marie continued as Callie desperately checks her Squitter, "I do believe my public apology was necessary, so our fans know my true face instead of some salty, grumpy sore loser I have to pretend as." She said that last part in a mocking tone.  
Then she continued: "I just didn't expect it to take such prominence."

She rests her left hand. "But I meant everything I said during the apology. I am truly sorry for being such a jerk."

Callie couldn't react much to Marie as she still was in panic mode. However, she calmed down after reading hundreds of positive Squeets about their last broadcast. "Oh, how fortunate", she sighed. "They sill like us."

Callie then smiled. "You know, Marie", she beamed. "I'm truly haven't felt any happier before then now. Pretending to be so mean and bragging about it always felt like a burden. I'm glad I finally can stop carrying it.

The two Squid Sisters then looked outside of the window. A bunch of Inklings were still looking at them, cheerfully greeting them and happy for their idols. The cousins waved to them just as cheerfully.

The Squid Sisters will be leaving work in just an hour.

"Oh, I almost forgot to congratulate you", Callie said. "I think you truly earned your win. You're just the best!"

"Nah", Marie said. "You are."

The two laughed.

It seems like things couldn't get any better.

* * *

In an office in the same building, however, there was one person who wasn't content with the recent broadcast. He just so happened to be the boss/manager of the Squid Sisters and was a silver-green barracuda named Sullivan Phishfaes. Or also known as  
'the silly fishface' by the playfully mocking.

He was often regarded as a respectable businessman. And why not? He funded for the game of Splatoon, the paintball sport named after the legendary Squidbeak Splatoon that got millions of Inklings still playing. He made Squid Force _the_ brand  
for Turf Warring. He imports all the weapons for Ammo Knights (save for the sets Sheldon made himself, or his grandpappy). And he hired the Squid Sisters as newscasters and was their manager in the music business.

If there was a problem with him, however, he was stubborn. He felt like he was always right (which is easy to believe when you always made success after success). And he also thought a bit too much like a stereotype businessman at times, trying to appeal  
to the demographic by looking at charts and following them step by step.

The reason why he wanted Callie and Marie to act mean to each other was because pro wrestling, which featured a lot of rivalry talk, was extremely popular if the charts were to believed. And since Splatfest is all about rivalry, why not let the hosts  
bicker to each other? Make Callie brag, make Marie salty. Sullivan believed that this would bring in _tons_ and _tons_ of views. And so far, he seemed right.

However, the two cousins were way too nice to each other. Sullivan was afraid they would lose views when they keep with this behavior, which is why he felt those two contracts he made were a necessary move.

With the recent broadcast, it seems like the two broke their extra contracts with that confession. And to top it all of, they even hugged! This isn't what a rivalry's supposed to be! Now Inkopolis News will lose views for sure!

...Granted, the views so far have been higher than ever, but the fishface was sure it's just because it's the final Splatfest's results. Of course the views would be high. But they'll be lower than the deepest sea level by the end of tomorrow, just you  
wait!

Sullivan feels like he has no choice. He has to find a new talent to keep the views consistent.

He buzzed in at his secretary: "Dominique, bring Callie and Marie to my office. I want to speak to them after their latest broadcast."


	2. Getting Fired

Time to go home. Callie and Marie were ready to punch the clock, but were suddenly halted by the secretary Dominique, a jellyfish with a brown, dome-shaped hairdo and a light blue sweater.

Dominique was one of the few jellyfish in the world that could speak the Inkling language, but unlike the clothes salesman Jelonzo, she learned to speak it fluently. In fact, Dominique was fluent in all sorts of languages, a feat for jellyfish like her, which is very useful for being a secretary and the reason why Sullivan hired her for this specific job.

"Umm, excuse me", began Dominique, "but the boss wants to see you. Right now."

Callie and Marie went on their way to Sullivan's office.

"Man, I wonder what that silly fishface wants from us", Callie said.

"I'm not sure", Marie responded, "but I don't have a good feeling about it. I think Mr. Phishfaes got upset about last broadcast."

"Oh come on", Callie said. "I'm pretty sure he liked the direction it went into."

* * *

"I don't like the direction your last broadcast went into", Mr. Phishfaes said.

The Squid Sisters have taken their seats in front of their boss's desk. Callie was completely surprised when hearing those words out of Sully, but Marie looked like she completely expected this. Not that she was happy about it either. In fact, Marie was pretty disappointed about it.

"Bu-but how, sir?" Callie asked. "I was pretty sure it was our best one yet! At least both Marie and I were satisfied how it ended this time!"

"I'm more concerned about our fans, Callie", Sullivan responded. "And according to my researches, we won't be getting as much views as regularly by the end of tomorrow."

Marie raised an eyebrow. "What researches exactly?"

"The ones I based your contracts on", Phishfaes responded. "The ones you've _broken_ , which I'm also unsatisfied of. But one problem at a time."

Sullivan pulled up a chart for wrestling shows. "Me and my team of researchers know for a fact that the banter used in wrestling shows sell, as you can see by this red line, while wrestling shows _without_ the rivalry stories falter, as you can see by this blue line."

"Except that our show ISN'T a wrestling show?" Marie interrupted. "It's just a news program."

"Correct, but the Splatfests you host alongside your news broadcasts ARE about battling and differences", Sullivan responded. "And battling plus differences equals rivalries, making the wrestling show banter seem like a perfect fit. And we believe _that_ will bring in views."

As he hid the chart, Sullivan continued: "But now that you both admitted that this rivalry was just for show, we'll surely lose views."

"That's a load of sea bull", Marie retorted. "Our views have been higher than ever before!"

"Yeah", Callie agreed. "And I've only seen positive remarks about it on Squitter, not to mention the other social media sites I'm on."

"We only gained so many views because these were the results of the final Splatfest, so of course it would be high", Phishfaes said. "And really, people never think straight for their initial reactions. It's only after the fact when they realize what is good or bad. You'll see that by the end of tomorrow, we won't have many views at all."

As much as Callie and Marie want to object to this, they realize their boss would just repeat the same thing.

"And unfortunately, I have even worse news for you", Sully continued.

Callie and Marie startled when they heard that.

"You may still remember that, a little while ago, that I mentioned you both broke your contracts and that I showed my disdain for that", he asked.

The Squid Sisters nodded.

"I apparently need to remind you, that breaking said contracts would result in losing your jobs", Phishfaes stated.

Callie and Marie swelled up tears. They knew where this was going.

"Tomorrow will be your last day in the studio. You will be replaced temporarily by one of our newscasters, until we can find new talent, who will permanently replace you."

Marie tried to resist crying and think clearly as she said: "Bu-but you can't do that. The newscasters before us were as boring as bricks, you'll lose even more views with those."

"But if I get to find new talent, the views will presumably go through the roof", Sullivan answered. "I'll be searching for new talent the day after that, and if things go smooth, there'll be a fresh new face in the studio in just a few days."

Sullivan ended the conversation: "You'll be dismissed"

* * *

As Callie and Marie left their office, tears were streaming down their cheeks. Who knew they were going to get fired?

Callie tried not to bawl, but resisting was really hard when you were so sad for someone who usually smiled very bright.

Marie gave her cousin a handkerchief to dry her tears. She wiped her own tears with her arm.

They punched the clock and left their building. Normally, they would go to Flounder Heights, to their own apartments, but this time, they felt like going through the manhole near Inkopolis Tower.

They wanted to visit their Gramps.

* * *

The old man himself, Cap'n Cuttlefish, was sitting down, looking at the horizon of Octo Valley, together with his ex-buddy DJ Octavio, who was still stuck in a snowglobe.

"That was quite a broadcast, wasn't it", Cuttlefish said to the encased octopus. "I feel like my granddaughters are gonna be like one of those eternal duos that stick to each other through thick and thin, like those hat-wearing plumbers, or them donkeys and diddies."

"Maybe", Octavio responded. "But I don't see how those inksquirts would love their music, honestly. I mean, my beats are clearly superior."

The Cap'n squinted his eyes when he glanced at Octavio. "Yeah, right, of course you don't get it", he said. "Meanwhile, you keep dancing to their heavenly melody whenever that's on the radio."

Octavio grumbled at that. He knew his rival was right and he couldn't think of anything to deny it.

"I wonder what my little angels are up to now, actually", Cuttlefish continued. "I bet they must be so happy now they get to be true to themselves!"

Right at that moment, Callie and Marie have arrived. However, unlike how the Cap'n predicted, they look like they were about to burst into tears.

"W-we want to talk, Gramps", Callie cried.

"We've just got the worst news of our lives", Marie said, with her face completely under mascara, smeared due to tears.

Cap'n Cuttlefish was complete perplexed. His sweet little granddaughters were bawling. This can't be because of the latest broadcast, right?

"You know, Cuttlefish", Octavio remarked. "You'd owe me something if I said a price, because you just lost your own bet."

* * *

Callie and Marie were brought into their grandfather's little shack. Cuttlefish himself, obviously, went into the shack too. Even Octavio was being shoved in the cottage, snowglobe and all.

The Squid Sisters had covered themselves in blankets of their favorite color while holding a mug containing their favorite tea, as they explained what just happened to the two elders. Cuttlefish was nibbling on a bean biscuit he picked up from a tray he placed on a tea table. When he heard that his granddaughters were getting fired, he almost choked on a piece.

"FIRED?!" he exclaimed. "That guy cannot be serious."

"Unfortunately, Mr. Phishfaes was", Marie replied with a sad expression.

"I cannot believe that silly fishface would fire us all because of his stupid charts", Callie wailed.

"And because we broke his contracts", Marie added.

"Which were made in the first place because of his stupid charts", Callie groaned.

Octavio grumbled: "I understand the decision to fire someone due to breach of contract, but as much as I dislike your music, you were clearly popular amongst your species." He closed his eyes as he said: "A good businessman like fishface wouldn't kick out a gold mine like you two."

"Except he just did", Callie complained, as she took a piece of crabby cake from the tray.

Marie sighed. "We have to announce this tragedy tomorrow during the news broadcast. Mr. Phishfaes is not expecting many viewers, despite the social media and all that."

"Sounds like fishface needs a Splashbook account", Octavio sneered.

"As if either of us have one", Cuttlefish remarked to his 'nemesis'.

"Oh right", Octavio said. "You're still accustomed to teleprinters."

The Cap'n wasn't in the mood to fight for his precious teleprinter. It would probably upset his beloved granddaughters even more and he wants to console them as much as he can.

* * *

The Squid Sisters stayed for a few more hours before they left the shack in Octo Valley and went to their apartments in Flounder Heights.

Their apartments were next to each other in the same building. It wasn't exactly hard to find, and for a location that had a lot of people living, the Squid Sisters surprisingly got a lot of privacy.

As they unlocked their own doors, Callie said: "Good night, Marie". She tried to sound chipper as always, but her expression was still sad and her voice almost broke.

"You too, Cal", Marie replied back. She too tried to sound comforting, but failed in a similar way.

The two went in their apartments, closed their doors and went to bed.


	3. Last Day

Callie woke up with _terribly_ creased tentacle hair. It's obvious she's been tossing through the entire night.

Like every morning, she dressed herself and then went ringing the doorbell of Marie's apartment so they could have breakfast together. Marie isn't exactly a morning person, so just knocking at the door wouldn't do: she simply wouldn't hear it due to being in a deep sleep.

"Coming", Marie yelled, as she hastily dressed herself and opened the door.

Contrary to Callie, Marie's hair always comes perfect and rarely gets tousled even after a bad night. It's still obvious she slept terribly, though, as her eyes are baggier than usual.

"You look like you've slept better nights", Callie remarked.

"You too", Marie responded. "Come in."

At the dining table, Callie said: "You know, I had a terrible dream last night. It started real good with you and me confessing over stuff we said, but then our boss decided to fire us because of that! Luckily, that last thing would never happen, right?"

Marie stopped eating her cereal and asked: "Isn't that exactly what happened yesterday?"

Callie startled. "Wait, it _did_ actually happen", she asked. "Our boss actually _is_ gonna fire us?"

Marie looked down with a sad face.

Callie realized that meant a 'yes'. "OH NOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

The Squid Sisters just arrived at the Inkopolis Plaza. Usually, they'd start the day by greeting Judd the cat with a bright smile, but they were too pessimistic to even pretend smiling. The just passed Judd with a sad "Hi".

Judd immediately caught on to this. Something was up and it wouldn't surprise him that everyone was about to find out soon.

* * *

The Inklings have arrived at the Plaza a few minutes before Inkopolis News would start. There was a bit less excitement than before, due to the fact that there were no more Splatfests, but it was still thriving around the Plaza. Everyone was excited to still see the Squid Sisters.

As the news program started, most Inklings were a bit surprised neither Squid Sister was smiling. They looked sad, actually. Inkling boys and girls were getting a bit worried.

"Hold on to your tentacles...", Callie said, a bit less excited than usual.

"It's Inkopolis News time..." Marie continued.

"Before we go talk about the rotations, we have to announce some shocking news", Callie said.

"And it's... not... very good...", Marie added.

"You might remember our shocking and EXCITING broadcast from last night", Callie said a bit more excited. Even when something seems to bring her in a bad mood, she can't help but to smile at what happened during the results broadcast from last night.

Unfortunately, that smile didn't stay for long, as Marie had to add an important detail neither seemed to be happy about.

"Sadly, though, our boss wasn't very fond of it...", she said.

Tension grew within the Inklings that were watching. What could this bad news possibly be?

"So, as per his command", Callie started, "we... we..."

Tears began to swell in Callie's eyes, as she said to Marie: "Oh, I can't do this! I can't say it! I can't do this to our fans, I'll make them cry! I don't want that!"

Marie's eyes also began to swell tears, but she said: "We need to, though. I really hate to tell them either, but they deserve to know. We'll say it together, OK?"

"O...OK", Callie said as she dried her tears.

Both breathed in and out. They tried standing there silently, but tears were already streaming down their cheeks. They hugged each other as they bawled out loud:

" _...WE'RE GETTING FIRED!_ "

The Squid Sisters continued crying for a bit. Meanwhile, their watchers were in absolute shock: the Squid Sisters, _fired?!_ Was that even possible?

Callie and Marie regained their senses a bit. They ended their hug, and attempted to dry their tears while still sniffling.

Callie stammered: "To-today is our last day at this studio."

"T-tomorrow, we'll be replaced by one of the boring newscasters our boss a-already has access to", Marie continued. "Who w-will fill in until our boss has found new talent."

"We hope to have a splat-tecular final day", Callie said.

"Honestly, though, I doubt anyone would be happy today", Marie added.

The Squid Sisters then moved on to the rotation, but their watchers didn't pay much attention. They were still in shock of the recent news of the Squid Sisters departing from their jobs, and those that weren't in shock were crying.

The Squid Sisters ended their broadcast with their usual sign-off ritual, but the "Stay fresh" sounded much sadder than before, and the poses they did also came off a bit too clumsily.

* * *

Literally the entire plaza was filled with sad faces after the broadcast. They lost all motivation to battle in Turf Wars, that's how much life the bad news sucked out of them. Even those that didn't care for the Squid Sisters at all didn't feel like Turf Warring today, either because they felt for the fans that felt bad, or because all the sad faces made them feel sad themselves.

There were those that went battling anyway, but the battlefields beyond Inkopolis Tower were surprisingly deserted today. So deserted that Judd had enough free time to keep resting on his sleeping bin. However, Judd was used to being made awake just to determine the winning team, and the cat was bothered by the lack of being constantly disturbed. It had to be this bad if the lazy cat was eager to be _not_ lazy.

* * *

Callie was resting with her elbow on the table and her hand on her cheek. Not only was she sad, but she was bored too. She noticed that Marie brought a stack of newspapers.

"What'cha doing, Marie", Callie asked emotionlessly.

"I'm looking through the employment advertisements", Marie answered. "We're going to be jobless tomorrow, and by then we have to find a new source of income to buy food and pay bills."

Callie's eyes widened. "Oh dang, that's true. Our job had been so fun I forgot we were getting paid for it!"

Marie rolled her eyes. Typical Callie. But she had to admit that this job _had_ been so fun. Bringing news on TV, singing before an audience, it had all been such fun. And now they had to let it go. Marie began to look sad as she searched through the ads again.

She secretly dreaded the day they had to resign. Their last job at Walleye Warehouse had been so terrible that she was almost tempted to burn her worker's outfit. However, back when they were assigned for their newscasters/pop idol job, she thought it would take at least seven years before that day would come. Not this soon.

The two cousins then noticed two Inkling fans clinging at their studio's windows. They waved to them while attempting to smile, but their fans' faces were so glum, that their smiled turned into a sad frown as well.

* * *

Cap'n Cuttlefish peered through the manhole in the plaza, as usual. His granddaughters already shared the bad news yesterday, but this didn't make him any less sad than the rest of the Inklings.

The old warrior from back then looked over the plaza and saw glum faces from left and right. It reminded him of the times from the Great Turf War hundreds of years ago, whenever someone had passed away on the battlefield.

Of course someone losing their job didn't exactly measure up to that, but the Squid Sisters, his granddaughters, have become an icon in Inkopolis. Many Inklings adored the two. The Cap'n understood their pain.

The Cap'n began to wonder if they understood _his_ pain. It just hurt him a little more since he knew Callie and Marie personally, as their grandfather. He doubted many an Inkling even knew he was related to them, despite the two having talked about him a _lot_.

Then a thought occurred to Cuttlefish. He had been moping all day, but he actually _had_ to do something. His cod-darn granddaughters are losing a job they dearly loved, he had to fight back for them, if that's even the last thing he would do. Fight for _their_ happiness.

He remembered back when the Squid Sisters won the Youth-Folk Singing Contest in the Calamari Region, with their own version of the Calamari Shanty. He had never seen such brighter faces before when they were handed that trophy and certificate. And he had seen these same faces during every single concert from their current job, whether he could attend it himself or just saw it on his old TV.

This job was clearly written on them.

However, just when he was about to sliver out of the manhole, he heard some yelling on the opposite side of the plaza.

He watched in the distance and saw some Inklings gathering nearby that weird box that had this 'amiibo' imprinting on it.

He saw a male kid giving a speech. He seemed angry but determined.

The old Cap'n decides to take a closer look.

* * *

Evening. Workday's almost over. Sullivan sat in his chair, patiently waiting for the Squid Sisters so he could escort them outside. In the meantime, he reviewed his experience of today.

The charts for today's views just came in. They were higher than expected, but the barracuda still believed the Squid Sisters have lost popularity. He had noticed that there were less Turf Wars going on since the broadcast this morning, and it seems like the entire plaza's been emptied out since at least noon. To Phishfaes, these were signs that not only the Squid Sisters lost popularity, but Turf Wars as well. He had to find new talent posthaste, but there simply isn't enough time for today.

He then heard some knocking on his office door. That should be the Squid Sisters. "Ah, come in", he said.

Callie and Marie entered.

"How was your last day", Mr. Phishfaes asked.

"Depressing", Callie wailed. "I was sad, Marie was sad, our fans were sad... _everyone_ was sad, all because we'll be fired, thanks to you and your stupid charts, you greedy fishface!" Callie got mad at her former boss.

"Easy, Callie", Marie said worried. "We don't want to get fines due to assault."

"Precisely", Sully said. "Now, I want you to sign these resignation papers. Otherwise, it's not official and you have to pay more fines."

The Squid Sisters signed the papers begrudgingly. A few tears fell on the papers too.

"Excellent", Sullivan said. "Well, aside from those tears, that is. They almost smeared the text."

"You're making yourself really easy to hate now, Mr. Phishfaes", Callie grumbled, still with tears on her cheeks.

Sully ignored what Callie said, and suggested: "Come, let me escort you to the door."

Defeated, the Squid Sisters followed Sullivan in a slumped fashion, but not before punching the clock for a last time. They reached the front door.

"After you", Sullivan invited.

The Squid Sisters glared towards their former boss, before Marie opened the door.

Then the three saw something neither Callie, Marie _or_ Sullivan would've expected.


	4. Protesting

Inklings. Hundreds of them. Thousands- no, _millions_ of Inklings, from kids to adults, boys and girls alike, seem to have surrounded the building. There were also tons of jellyfish, urchins, anemones and other creatures there, even a few Octarians. All of them appear to protest against Phishfaes's decision to fire the Squid Sisters, as evidenced by the signs several of the Inklings seem to be holding, with writings like 'SAVE CALLIE AND MARIE', 'DON'T FIRE THE SQUID SISTERS', and 'STOP THAT FISHFACE' to name a few. Despite the fact that neither Squid Sister mentioned their boss by name, some of their fans seem well educated who exactly hired them... and fired them too.

The Squid Sisters and their former boss were completely surprised by the appearance of this movement. They haven't heard a peep when they were inside.

Neither Callie nor Marie seemed to care about that, though: they were moved by the fact that their fans would fight for them to keep their job.

"Y-you did this...", Callie started, with teary eyes and a smile.

"F-for us?!", Marie finished, also with teary eyes and a smile.

They clasped their hands together and made the most adorable faces when they saw how much their fans cared about them.

Sullivan, however, wasn't very pleased with the mob surrounding the studio. He shoved his former employees aside and yelled: "What's the meaning of this madness around the studio?"

A girl Inkling with orange tentacles pointed an accusing finger towards Phishfaes and exclaimed: " _You_ fired our idols for insane reasons! And _we_ want you to undo your greedy decision!"

"Excuse me?", Sully asked the girl. "Firing these two was a tactical decision of mine to not lose any more money and views than I could after that inane broadcast last night. It's anything but insane."

A woman Inking next to the girl, presumably her mother, spoke: "There's absolutely no way that 'inane' broadcast from last night _wouldn't_ make you lose money. I work as a statistician, and according to my researches, last night's broadcast should've in fact put you on top of the world."

"Pah, that's just due to the fact the results of the last Splatfest would be revealed", the barracuda replied. "But I am pretty sure today's views were-"

"Just as high as any other day", the woman interrupted. "I also researched a bit of today's broadcast. It's incomplete but it shows enough evidence that these two young idols are still popular."

"And if you need more evidence, mr. business man", a boy Inkling on the other side showed up, "just check how trending the #SquidSisters tag on Squitter is!"

"Probably about how they hate the direction went...", Phishfaes scoffed.

"The opposite, in fact", the boy sneered. "All of us still like Callie and Marie."

"You're just too afraid to admit you were wrong because of your greedy contracts!" A yellow-tentacled boy yelled.

"YEAH", a red-tentacles girl roared. "You would not give a splat if those contracts weren't broken."

"HEY, breach by contract is a _serious_ crime", Sullivan retorted.

" _Your contracts_ were a serious crime to begin with", a cyan-tentacled boy scoffed.

The entire crowd began to yell various things, mostly offenses towards Sullivan. Callie and Marie couldn't help but smile a little.

This racket became a bit too much for Sullivan.

"ENOUGH", he yelled, silencing the Inklings. "Who is responsible for this movement, anyway?!"

"That would be us", an elderly voice replied.

The mob began to make enough room for Sullivan to see where the voice came from.

Two figures were walking towards the barracuda. A young Inkling boy with blue tentacles. He also seemed to be wearing gear very similar to the fabled Hero Suit, headset and all. The other figure seemed much more elderly, but the way he uses an authentic Bamboozler as a walking cane, and the tethered dark blue cap are all too recognizable.

"GRAMPS!", both Squid Sisters exclaimed. "And Agent 3 too!"

"The legendary Bluefin Cuttlefish", Sully muttered in awe. "And... some random kid."

* * *

"Aye, that's what they used to call me back in my time", Cap'n Cuttlefish spoke. "But I'm not here for me. I, like all these lads beside me, would like you to give my granddaughters back the job they deserve."

"Wait", Sullivan asked, "YOU'RE the grandfather they often talk about?"

"Surprised ye didn't know, Sully", Cuttlefish replied with a leer. "And I thought it was surprising enough all of the Inklings here _do_ know I'm their gramps."

"Gramps, did _you_ organize this movement for us?" Callie asked.

"Well, I would like to start one, as I couldn't stand the fact you two would have your dream job been taken away", the Cap'n began, "but I didn't need to! This movement is started by my pal Agent 3 here." He patted on Agent 3's back.

Agent 3 winked and gave a thumbs-up.

"You can't be serious that Agent 3 is in fact his real name", Sullivan muttered.

Agent 3 glared at Phishfaes while grumbling.

"Of course not", Cuttlefish said. "'Agent 3' is a nickname. But it's not like his real name matters right now."

"No, I understand you all are here for them", Sullivan said as he pointed towards Callie and Marie.

"Right you are, Sully", the Cap'n replied. "And seeing how we were able to spread around the information to gather a movement and get so many people of all species and ages from the entire region, it's clear to me that my granddaughters aren't just a fad."

"How would you know I'd call them just a fad, Bluefin?", Sullivan asked.

"That's the card all greedy businessmen use, Sully", Cuttlefish explained. "It's sad to see a respectable businessman like you used to fall into the aforementioned category, really."

"I'm pretty sure I'm still respectable", Sullivan retorted.

"Really?" Cuttlefish asked. "After firing the most popular idols of the country for extremely biased reasons? After they revealed you forced them to sign contracts they cannot refuse? One of said contracts revealing you've been rigging a few matches too? Respect is a thing that can be lost very easily, Sully, and I think you lost it three times by now."

"J-just for firing the Squid Sisters?" Sullivan dared to ask.

"Oh yes", a voice said.

It came from Sheldon, the horseshoe crab that sold weapons. The other gear proprietors stood beside him, as did Spyke the tall street urchin and Judd.

"The Squid Sisters always announced whenever I got new weapons to sell", Sheldon said. "Without them, my business wouldn't have been the same. I doubt any other newscaster would announce it the same way, if at all. And you know, with your underhanded tactics revealed, I almost feel disgusted selling weapons you have imported for me!"

The headgear proprietor, Annie the anemone, murmured: "Callie and Marie often visited my shops. I always felt honored..."

The clownfish in her hair, Moe, yelled: "YEAH, PLUS THEY GAVE US A LOTTA MONEY AND PUBLICITY"

Jelonzo, in his broken grammar, said: "My business not may well in Splatfests, but enjoyable sure they are. Me do not care for selling not shirts meanwhile."

Crusty Sean, the prawn, lamented: "These poor squiddos always visited my shop with bright faces after Inkopolis News. Because the Squid Sisters gave them bright faces. It always made me happy to see them happy."

Spyke said with a stoic expression: "These lasses hosted the always jolly Splatfest. For the longest time, these were the only source for me to get Sea Snails from my loves, and I was very thankful for that."

Judd said a simple "Meow."

"He said that he always enjoyed judging during a Splatfest", Cuttlefish interpreted, "and that he didn't particularly like it when he found out not all of his judgements came through."

Sullivan wondered how Cuttlefish could interpret all of that in just a simple 'meow', but he ignored it and asked: "Alright, what do you want, precisely?"

"If it wasn't obvious enough already, we want you to make a new contract to rehire the Squid Sisters", Cuttlefish said. "With an added punishment that you pay them more. I always felt my granddaughters were underpaid. And of course, no extra tricks like those foul contracts you forced them to sign."

Agent 3 nodded in agreement.

"And what if I refuse?" Sullivan asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure rigging a few contests is already illegal", Cuttlefish said. "It'll cost you much more than the extra money you've to pay my granddaughters at the very least. Who knows you'll even get jailtime?"

"Is that it?" Sullivan asked. "I'm pretty sure I'll already get that punishment whether I agree with your conditions or not."

"Well, it's not exactly all", the Cap'n spoke. "Aside from that, you may get some wrath from the lads behind me."

The entire mob roared in response.

"As long as it stays legal", Cuttlefish added. " _We're_ not a lynch mob."

The mob was silenced.

Cap'n Cuttlefish went closer to Sullivan, and added: "But the Octarians seem all too happy to form a lynch mob. I heard from a certain DJ Octavio he would send his entire Octo army after you and then personally tear you apart and mix you with wasabi; turn you into a radio edit or something. I, umm, dunno about you, Sully, but if I were you..."

Sullivan sweat at the entire idea. He knew enough.

"Fine", he gave in. "I'll rehire them and make new contracts, it that makes you all happy."

"Good", Cuttlefish said. "Now let's go inside the building and make the new contracts right now."

"Wait, right now?" Sullivan exclaimed. "And why do you want to go inside as well, Bluefin?"

"So I can make sure you're not tricking my granddaughters again, of course", the Cap'n explained. "And these lads ain't leavin' until a fair contract's been made, so yeah, we need to make them right now."

Defeated, Sullivan let Cap'n Cuttlefish inside, while standing there in a slumped fashion.

"Now Agent 3, would you and the lads wait for us outside?" Cuttlefish asked.

Agent 3 saluted.

Cuttlefish then said: "Now, Callie, Marie-"

But before he could finish his sentence, the Squid Sisters were tightly hugging his grandfather. They seem to be crying out of pure joy.

"Oh, thank you, Gramps", Callie said with tears of joy. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Thanks so much, Gramps", Marie said. "I'll be eternally grateful for this."

"Now, now, you gotta thank Agent 3, he organized this first", Cuttlefish said.

"Of course", Callie said. "But we need to thank you too, Gramps; you played a HUGE part in this too."

"We'll thank Agent 3 a bit later, OK?" Marie promised.

"Oh, Callie, Marie...", Cuttlefish said as he embraced his granddaughters.

The three then went inside, and dragged Sullivan along, quite literally.

* * *

The crowd was waiting in tension. It's been silent for quite a while in the studio. Some of them couldn't wait anymore and tried to barge in but were either stopped by their parents or halted by Agent 3. The look on his determined face said enough: he was sure that everything will be fine and that breaking in would only make matters worse.

Soon enough, the door opened. Callie and Marie stepped out and proudly showed their new contracts. Cap'n Cuttlefish was also leaving the building and made an equally proud face.

Callie and Marie embraced Agent 3.

"Thank you so much too, Agent 3", Callie exclaimed.

"Thanks for everything", Marie said.

Agent 3 hugged the Squid Sisters in return with an equally thankful face. "Anytime", he spoke quietly.

Callie and Marie then proceeded to hug all their other fans. Callie tried to embrace as many as she could. If her arms couldn't grab any more Inklings, her very long tentacles grabbed those instead. Marie preferred to hug two at a time.

In the door opening, the silver-green Sullivan Phishfaes stared at the Squid Sisters happily hugging their fans. He felt conflicted. On one hand, he was happy for the Squid Sisters. He had to admit he was a bit rough on them the past 48 hours, and in turn made them feel unpleasant. He realized that he too preferred the Squid Sisters keeping this job, and he realized that he has relied a bit too much on his greed. Smack talk wasn't required at all to keep the views coming: them having a fun time brought more than enough views, and tons of happy faces.

But Sullivan also felt a bit of fear. He had just learned a valuable lesson: Don't mess with the Squid Sisters. The punishments were, frankly, very fearful for the barracuda. Yet he felt also a bit grateful for getting that lesson because he _did_ go too far this time.

And, the lesson made him realize that he too, can be wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing this story on FanFiction.Net, a user by the name of alexander.babitsky.1 had wondered if the one leading the protest in the last chapter was Agent 3. Although I hadn't planned that, I found it a good idea, so I'd like to thank him for the suggestion.
> 
> There's only one chapter left after this. See you then!


	5. Epilogue

Next day. Inkopolis News was about to start again, and thousands of Inklings have gathered around the Inkopolis Plaza's huge studio TV screen. Millions of Inklings at home had already switched to the right channel.

The broadcast started. The Squid Sisters showed up and seemed brighter than ever

"Hold on to your tentacles...", Callie said.

"It's Inkopolis News time!" Marie finished.

"I bet some of you are wondering why we're back in the studio", Callie exclaimed.

"Though I'm sure most of you already know the answer", Marie answered.

"Yes, it seemed that the bad news of yesterday shocked so many of you guys that you formed a huge mob and protested to get us back here", Callie announced.

"And, really, we couldn't be thankful enough", Marie said.

"It was led by our own Gramps, the legendary Cap'n Cuttlefish!", Callie exclaimed.

"And Agent 3 too, a personal friend of ours", Marie added.

"All of you convinced our boss to rehire us again", Callie said as both Squid Sisters showed their new contracts.

"That's the power of fan demand", Marie said proudly.

"Now, I want to say something that I totally forgot to say during the final Splatfest results, but I think now is the perfect time for that", Callie said. "I would like to thank everyone: Judd for all the results, Gramps for always being ther for us, Agent 3 and our fans too, and most of all..."

Callie turned to Marie and said: "Thank you Marie, for always being there for me. And congratulations on your win for the last Splatfest: you earned it."

"Nonono", Marie said, "Thank YOU. For being my best friend. And YOU congratulations: you won way more Splatfests than I did."

Then both Squid Sisters exclaimed: "SQUID SISTERS FOREVER!"

"You know Cal", Marie began. "I'm really going to miss these Splatfests. Sure, our old contracts tried to make us compete, but otherwise they were really fun."

"Me too, Marie", Callie replied. "Me too."

"Well, shouldn't we move on to the map rotations?" Marie suggested.

* * *

As the broadcast ended with a much more upbeat "Stay fresh", the regular atmosphere seemed to have returned. No more glum faces around the plaza, everyone's minding their own business in a satisfied way.

Inklings were shopping at the Booyah Base again with happy faces, which made Crusty Sean from Shrimp Kicks smile brightly. Sheldon was still a bit hesitant selling imported weapons when his customers asked for those, but did give them what they asked for, as he knew his hesitance wouldn't fade away if he kept the weapons that reminded him of the deal. Besides, he reviewed his deal with Phishfaes and concluded that this particular deal was fair in any way, and the purchase was made _way_ before Splatfests even began.

Inklings were more battle-happy than yesterday. It helped too, that, because of the Squid Sisters returning, Judd would give the winning teams more bonus points, and gave everyone a Super Sea Snail he found as a bonus for every 30 matches. The latter point made Spyke the street urchin happy.

Those who decided to stay in the plaza instead of battling or shopping, were talking about the recent broadcast. There were some Inklings that had no idea of the protest, surprisingly enough, but were glad that the Squid Sisters are back. A lot of Inklings left bouquets and presents at their studio, which the Squid Sisters gladly accepted.

A lot of Inklings also thanked the one known as Agent 3, who was also hanging around the Plaza. But he directed to the manhole and said: "Well, you gotta thank their gramps too. Every one of you too, in fact."

"Hey", an orange-tentacled girl Inkling asked, "Do you think that fishface guy has learned anything about that protest last night."

"I certainly hope so", Agent 3 answered.

* * *

Sullivan sat in front of his desk. He received the latest viewer's charts. The views were even higher than a few days ago.

This cemented the fact that he was wrong about the earlier predictions he made: the Squid Sisters had never been popular because of the wrestling banter, and getting rid of that certainly didn't make them any less popular. Callie and Marie still had a huge following, if the event from last night wasn't obvious enough

Phishfaes was very fortunate that he just had to pay a large sum of cash for the Splatfest rigging. With the money he received, he would just earn it back anyway. But he also had to pay more money towards the Squid Sisters, as was written in the new contracts.

But he didn't feel disgruntled after all the bad things that happened to him. He realized he did wrong things and he was simply getting punished for it.

Sully vowed to never make such greedy decisions ever again, and to not follow the charts word for word. It's probably going to take a while for him to get his respect back, but he didn't mind as much, as it reminded him of how he got to be a rich businessman in the first place. Through determination, like that Agent 3 fellow.

* * *

At the end of the day, Sullivan heard some knocking on his office door. This actually startled Sully a little, as he didn't expect anyone on this moment of the day.

"Come in", he said.

It were Callie and Marie, both holding a small present.

"Callie and Marie", Sullivan said. "How was your... first... day?"

"Great", Callie said with a huge smile. "Everyone was super glad this time. They also gave us lots of flowers."

"Ah, and what the both of you are holding, you received that from your fans too", asked Sullivan.

"Actually, it's for you", Marie said.

Sullivan looked surprised to the two cousins. For him? He started suspiciously at the two packages, suspecing it might be something sour, seeing how he was being unfair to them.

"Yeah, you may have been a huge jerk yesterday, but we would like to thank you for rehiring us", Callie said.

Sullivan opened the two presents. Callie's contained a pink cupcake while Marie's contained a green one.

The barracuda tasted one of the cupcakes. It was delicious!

"We assumed you may be working hard for the after-hours", Marie said. "Gramps told us a snack always helps him keeping awake"

"Well, um, thank you, Callie and Marie", Sullivan said. "Have a good night."

"Good night!" the Squid Sisters exclaimed as they left the office.

Sullivan thought for a bit. Maybe he was regaining his respect sooner than he thought it would take.

As he was looking at his computer, Sully took another bite of one of the cupcakes.


End file.
